Okay, Mixing's Fine, But....

[massikrbeats]

..to what extent?

We all make die hard attempts to get a kick to sound like this, double up on snares to sound like that, Quik doesn't like to use bedroom produced techniques because the electricity's dirty....please tell me does the "end user" (anyone whos not a producer) really give a flying shit if the guy who made the beat had dirty electricity when they made it?

When I grew up listening to music, I didn't care how sparkly a hi-hat sounded. A nice overall mixdown is good, but do you think some people are taking it TOO far when braggin about thier "new 30,000 machine that adds warmth and record music in this well rounded room so the sounds come back and pop you in the head instead of sounding boxy....etc, etc...perception of sound, etc...high end low end knick knack patty wack give a kick a thump, etc, etc." lol, anyway...

My beats sound nice enough to bang without EQ and all that shit, however I do add a little to make it a little more acceptable, but damn...you guys know what I mean. Not knocking the actual mixing process, but who on the other side cares about such things.

That's why I loooove Madlib's article. He's so laid back about how he produces. give the rapper a track, if he likes it fine, doesn't..okay. shit he's made beats in his hotel room before and put them on people's album. So what's up guys?

How far do you really need to go with mixing and mastering processes to please listeners who most of the time don't even know what a kick is?

HOLLa

 

[Fade]

I hope this doesn't turn into a "it's not what you use, but how you use it" debate lol.

But for me, I couldn't care less about certain things like that. I think lots of guys get too caught up in what "big time" producers do. Let's face it - they use expensive equipment and have engineers working on their mixes. Most of us just do beats in our bedrooms, so it doesn't matter about how sparkly a snare is.

If the music sounds good then that's all that matters. Ever since I started making music, I've never been a big fan of plugins or FX because too much of that stuff can drive you away from what's really important, which is just making it sound good! I'm not saying that I prefer to hear music that's totally lo-fi and muddy, not at all. But sometimes I prefer to hear unmixed tracks from someone because everything's kept at a basic level and hasn't been messed with.

Back to the original question - like I mentioned above, mixing is very important but only to a certain extent. If you're making beats for yourself, for fun, for your buddies then it's not that important. If you're making a demo, then it's very important. Let's just leave it at that.

 

[Cold Truth]

um to be honest its about quality. its abuot putting out a great product vs a good product.

madlib, his stuff SOUNDS lilke he made it ina hotel room... thats cool if thats his thing, im not knockin him, but a poor mix is a poor mix regardless.

if you prefer to listen to low quality recordings, fine. but you want to MAKE poor uality recordings?

it pays off

i made a basic, 4 bar loop beat with a westcoast feel to it, and the initial mix sounded flat and dull.... but give a little eq, a little mixing of the levels and a plug in or two and all of a sudden its got POWER. it SOUNDS better.

me personally, i understand that the big guys hav ebetter stuff, yada yada yada, but its LAZY, straight up, to not mix it. i know it sounds "fine" but if you are satisfied with being "good" as opposed to "GREAT" then be my guest.

 

[massikrbeats]

me personally, i understand that the big guys have better stuff, yada yada yada, but its LAZY, straight up, to not mix it. i know it sounds "fine" but if you are satisfied with being "good" as opposed to "GREAT" then be my guest.

Thanks for the comments, guys. Don't get me wrong...I totally mix down my shit and add the proper effects. It has to sound good, I know. Pan here and there, cutoff on this and that, but 9 times out of 10, that's where I leave it. I'm just saying that I don't think there's a kid out there (again, besides beat bangaz cuz we always look for this shit, lol) saying "wow, 50 cent is hot....and listen to how hard his kicks are thumpin..man, I wonder what his time signature was...he must've lowered the high end a notch on this hat and raised the midsection on that and...ughhhh" lol

Just a funny topic to bring up exposing how I think most producers who are hot (Just Blaze for example) process their beats to the max to give a message to another hot producer that he can make it sound better when most of the buyers don't give a crap.

Again, thanks Fade and Truth for the comments!

 

[Cold Truth]

no, he isnt, but if the mix sounded dull and boring, and didnt sound good in his ride, he probably WOULD notice. people dont notice because they are used to paying for quality, but i promise you if your friend puts a badly mixed cd of yours in his ride he will notice that.

 

[massikrbeats]

but i promise you if your friend puts a badly mixed cd of yours in his ride he will notice that.

Very very true.

Basically, you'd rather have someone vibin to your shit than asking, "somethin doesn't sound quite right about this" I never thought about it that way. So its better to stay on our A game than to hope no one notices the differences between quality music and music we put out there hopin it gets by...very understandable. Thanks, Truth

 

[Cold Truth]

^^^exactly

i think, on one hand, we dont NEED to be so meticulous, but at the same time, its a worthwhile endevor..... always make your music sound as good as you can make it.

 

[Rhythmikal]

a guy once said that the producer of a track gets too PARANOID that his shit doesnt sound balanced etc.. because if you are the maker of the track then you pay attention to more detail than the average listener actually cares about.

like say you are mixing your track u may think oh shit that snare is a bit too loud or flat or whatever, but its just coz u want it 100% correct when it doesnt have to be.

sAfE.

 

[DJ Hoppa]

I hate that crystal clear "pro" sound.

Madlib is illness. It's all about the vibe. A lot of dudes got clean sounding shit but their beats are generic, wack, and all they got going is their "great sound."

A lot of dudes are grimy but the vocals or beats are just plain wack.




As far as your last question, I dont do shit for the listener - I do it until I think it's right.

And the listener may not know the details of the mix, but they "feel" the music, and your mix determines that "feel".

 

[Chrono]

do you all keep the lyricist in mind when laying your drums? sometimes beats are nice but not vocal friendly..

 

[eXampuL_oNe]

I think a good mixdown definitly helps, alot... Some beats sound ill just dirty as fuck and some beats only sound dope because of the quality... I can tell you this, CityCeo is right on the fact that the normal listener aint gunna give a fuck about the quality, to a certain extent... But a person like me!? Shit, I can name you a couple joints i've heard on the radio that need to be re-mixed... To me a good eq and compression add's alot if you can do it effectively and not over do it... It will add so much more to the track...

Now, (back to what DJ qWik said) as far as me using dirty electricity... I could give a flying fuck about that... The shit i make is good enough for me and when other people hear it they ususally like how it sounds too... I believe that the mix should just be presentable... I hate when i hear a beat that's ill but the mix is garbage! A good mix adds so much more...

 

[Greg Savage]

Im an artist 1st and i've always loved Quality and Clarity..

When i was mc-ing i never wanted to hop on noones Beats when they shit didn't sound good

 

[DJ Hoppa]

Im an artist 1st and i've always loved Quality and Clarity..

this statement kind of boggles me.

If you're an artist FIRST shouldn't you love the art?

Maybe if you were a critic first, you would love the quality/clarity?

Anyways, I shouldnt even argue this, my beats are crystal clean and grimy @ the same time! WHAT?! WHAT!?!

GEAaAAhhhhhhhhh Boyyyyeeeeeeeeee!!!!


BOH!

 

[Shonsteez]

Thing about a mix is that everyone can be a little different, so when u drop mix number 1 u might have some dynmaic loss in certain areas, etc....So u drop mix #2, now u got my snap in yer snare and yer hats sit better in the drum score.....Now u got Mix#3, all of sudden everything sounds like shit and u start over. Next thing u kno u got a completely different sounding song since u started with all dry signals and remixed the entore track from the ground up......So to make a long story long - I think that a Good Mix is most definitly something that any beatmaker/techy/ or engineer should kno how to accomplish.

 

[Qwerty]

I agree with you worldcityceo, I think bedroom producers go to hard for a great sound. What "pro" do I think is: make the beat, make it sound like they wan't it to sound, then pass it to the engineer.

So, I think we just got to make it sound good and not necessarly top-notch-dr.dre-professional-sounding.

 

[MGTheFuture]

Actually -

Most of that up north rugged in your bedroom recording beats and songs are alot harder and more appreciated then this digitally re-mastered bullshit we hear on the radio

Lyrics - and Beat Wise

Quality is PERFECT for movies and scores and some other genres - but HIP HOP - assuming this is what this is about - SHOULD be dirty - and if it is - why beef lol

PEople trading their turntables in for Pristine MP4 Encoders lmao

 

[Greg Savage]

this statement kind of boggles me.

If you're an artist FIRST shouldn't you love the art?

Maybe if you were a critic first, you would love the quality/clarity?

Anyways, I shouldnt even argue this, my beats are crystal clean and grimy @ the same time! WHAT?! WHAT!?!

GEAaAAhhhhhhhhh Boyyyyeeeeeeeeee!!!!


BOH!

whats wrong with an Artist that loves Perfection ???

 

[Shonsteez]

I agree with you worldcityceo, I think bedroom producers go to hard for a great sound. What "pro" do I think is: make the beat, make it sound like they wan't it to sound, then pass it to the engineer.

So, I think we just got to make it sound good and not necessarly top-notch-dr.dre-professional-sounding.

I think the art of mixing is getting confused here with the actual process of Mastering....they are similar but really quite different......In the end all u can do is try and make your "home mix" as good as sonically possible and then if it ever makes it to the actual pressing stage - its time to get that bitch mastered.....But that doesnt mean that u shouldnt try to make yer mix sound dope! - Hell, whats the point of making an awsome beat if the drums aint slumpin, or the keys are all off in the back and not up front where they feel good!?......Fuck that!!!.....I want my shits to sound good when i demo them in the record store stereo for friends and when i ride in my busted ass whip!........Good mix = Happier Beatmaker.

 

[Carpe Diem]

I hate that crystal clear "pro" sound.

Madlib is illness. It's all about the vibe. A lot of dudes got clean sounding shit but their beats are generic, wack, and all they got going is their "great sound."

word...i aint too keen on the clean sound...its all about the dirtier side of things...

but a lil compression and eq can go a lonnnngggg way in a mix...doesnt hurt to experiment and find ya own lil mastering technique...

 

[2_nice]

hip hop is production music easy as that. when people sample they are looking for a sound when they choose a patch or make a patch they're looking for a sound. Either you are good enough (and lucky enough) to get that sound initially with sound choice and basic levels and panning or you do more. it isn't like we're singer songwriters playing a guitar riff and working out some lyrics we're putting sounds together in this way i think hip hop is a very advanced form of music. I think people especially nowadays should think a bit more about their drum patterns sample work basslines i.e with fellas making dance type production music hip hop shit like lil jon etc. (skill there too tho gets some great sounds)
i think it is really important learn all you can !! train your ears !!